In Statius ' « Achilleid » (2, 96-102) Achilles describes his diet of wild animals in infancy, which rendered him fearless and may indicate another aspect of his character - a tendency toward aggression and anger.
The portrayal of angry warriors in Roman epic is effected for the most part not by direct descriptions but indirectly, by similes of wild beasts (e.g. Vergil, Aen. 12, 101-109 ; Lucan 1, 204-212 ; Statius, Th. 12, 736-740 ; Silius 5, 306-315).
These similes may be compared to two passages from Statius (Th. 1, 395-433 and 8, 383-394) that portray the onset of anger in direct narrative.
Analysis of these passages demonstrates that the concept of « ira » in epic takes its moral aspect from the context.
